


A Halloween Tradition

by faintof



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Altered Mental States, Body Horror, Gen, Haunted House, Horror Tropes, Injury, Pranks, prank gone wrong, spoilers start here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 17:19:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12586824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faintof/pseuds/faintof
Summary: It wasn’t the most elegant or well thought-out plan, but Red had been preparing for it since he heard about this place. He’d been practicing masking the color of his magic for weeks.It's not what you think.





	A Halloween Tradition

“-an’ once you go in, you never come back out!” Red cackled at the twin looks of horror on Blue and Rus’s faces. Those two had to be some of the most easily frightened, and most gullible, monsters he had ever met. Comic looked less than amused, though Stretch’s jaw twitched as he hid a smile of his own.

“QUIT YOUR DILLY DALLYING AND LEAD THE WAY PROPERLY, WHELP!” Edge pulled his coat around him tighter, he wasn’t scared, he was only curious about this building that was apparently haunted. Ghosts could be vicious, yes, but this was _human_ ghosts they were talking about.

“yea, yea, Boss, whatever. c’mon guys, don’t be wusses. or are ya really scared of ghoulie ghosties?” The sharp-toothed skeleton taunted, mirth-filled eye sockets darting around to each of his companions, relishing in the loud, indignant voices that answered him.

“let’s just get this over with, yeah?” Comic interrupted, tightening his grip on his flashlight as he urged the group forward, “we almost there?” Red looked around, comparing their current location to some scribbles on a paper in his hand.

“Uhhh, yea, shoul’ be right up here,”

“WHY EXACTLY ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN?” Blue fiddled with his own flashlight, unscrewing and screwing the reflective top on and off.

“it’s Halloween! humans go apeshit for some reason and do scary shit,” Red shrugged, really, it had just sounded like a good excuse to scare the shit out of all his friends, but he wasn’t going to tell them that.

“so, in honor of our first Halloween on the surface, we should also do scary shit?” Stretch asked, tone flat, “...i’m game.” Red knew he could count on Stretch to help him stir up shit.

“IT SHALL BE A WONDERFUL TEST OF COURAGE! BESIDES, WE ALREADY KNOW SOME GHOSTS! NAPSTABLOOK IS ANYTHING BUT SCARY!” Rus beamed. Though it sounded scary, it was apparently a sort of human tradition, something that they must accomplish in order to integrate properly into human society, so he must help his fellow skeletons! For the future of monsterkind!

“there! that’s it,” Red pointed ahead as they rounded the corner, revealing a massive, decrepit looking house. The house was dark, clearly abandoned for many years. The paint had faded over the years, rotting, natural wood peeking through. The front steps were overgrown, weeds spilling over the side, overtaking and choking out the more desireable plants that had tried to grow. The moon was full and bright, the sky clear, shedding a cool, white light across the grounds and lighting their way.

“...looks like shit,” Stretch was the first to make his way to the house, the others falling in step behind him.

“...MUST WE SPEND ALL NIGHT HERE?” Rus and Blue shared a look, “IT...DOES NOT LOOK STRUCTURALLY SOUND…”

“nah, we’ll leave early. not like anything’ll happen.”

They had been in the house a total of three minutes when they decided to split up. Red was glad for the dim lighting masking his smirk. He was going to get them so good. Before them lie three paths, an arch to the left, which seemed to lead to a kitchen, a door to the right, closed, and a door straight ahead, tucked next to the stairs. Stretch in tow, Red headed to the left, to the kitchen.

“so when are you gonna do it?”

“gotta let ‘em get nice ‘n’ comfy firs’.”

Stretch nodded in understanding as they started poking through the kitchen. There didn’t seem to be anything remarkable, though, Red noted with disappointment. Certainly nothing he could use for his master plan. It wasn’t the most elegant or well thought-out plan, but Red had been preparing for it since he heard about this place. He’d been practicing masking the color of his magic for weeks. He carefully held and examined a beautifully painted, horribly cracked porcelain plate when a loud thud followed by a slew of cursing came from the direction of the entry hall. He quickly set the plate on the counter as he met Stretch’s eye before hurrying back. Back in the entry hall, Rus and Blue had rushed back, nearly running over Comic as he stumbled through the door by the stairs.

“WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT’S GOING ON?” Blue rushed to Stretch, who merely shook his head. Comic slouched against the wall as another thud came from the room he exited.

“Edge tried to trip me with some statue thing,” Muffled curses came from the other room, “so i may have left it there, give myself a bit of an edge,” He winked with a shrug. Rus gathered his brother up in his arms, simultaneously scolding and inspecting for damage.

“you guys find anything cool?” Stretch wandered to his brother’s side.

“POSSIBLY? THERE WAS ANOTHER DOOR FURTHER IN, BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH FURNITURE THAT WE WEREN’T ABLE TO REACH IT.” As nervous as he had seemed, he practically had stars in his eyes now.

“same,” Comic offered from his cushy spot in Rus’s arms, “there’s a bunch of like statues and things, paintings, art-y stuff... _paint_ ever seen anything like it.”

“huh. well, the kitchen’s jus’ a fuckin’ kitchen so…” Red glanced around, “hey, Boss! get the fuck out here!” The house stood in silence for a long moment, “don’t be a dick, Boss, come on-” He looked in the doorway Comic had fallen out of, a dark, quiet, and, most importantly, empty room greeted him. “Boss?”

Rue gently set his brother down again before stepping forward to follow Red. The others slowly trailed after, understandably hesitant. Red stepped fully inside, the small herd of skeletons slowly following him.

“EDGE? ARE YOU HIDING IN HERE?” Blue was the most likely to get a positive reaction out of the volatile skeleton, but the room remained silent.

“ha ha, edgy mcdickface, we’re shivering in our various types of footwear, now hurry up and come out!” Stretch’s voice hardly traveled through the room, the stagnant air swallowing it up. Still, there was no response. They moved further in and Red felt his soul clench a bit. The room certainly was filled with art and statues, but nothing that a skeleton of Edge’s stature could effectively hide behind. The door at the far wall was still closed.

“bro, what the fuck?” Red carefully picked his way to the door only to stop suddenly, “...no way.”

“RED? WHAT IS IT?” Rus rubbed his gloves together, taking solace in the familiar rough feel of the motion. Red moved a bit to the side when Rus came forward, revealing a large, heavy-looking statue lying on its side in front of the door. “...EDGE CANNOT USE SHORTCUTS, CORRECT?” Red shook his head and made to knock on the door, he wasn’t strong enough to move the statue, but maybe his brother had decided to go all out with this joke.

“COMIC?” Everyone turned to look at Blue, whose brows furrowed as he looked around. “HE WAS JUST HERE A SECOND AGO…”

“BROTHER?” Rus weaved his way back through the room, sweeping past Blue to look through the doorway. Red watched, smile growing stiff as panic started seeping into his soul. He pounded his fist against the door, he had to be in there.

“Boss!! come one, ‘s not funny any more!”

“SANS! WHERE DID YOU GO?”

“hey, come on, guys, let’s calm down. they’re obviously playing a stupid prank. can you get that door open?” Red tugged at the door but the statue was too heavy to allow any movement. He tried next to move it with blue magic, but since it didn’t have a soul, there was nothing to grab. He turned back and shook his head, gritting his teeth.

“okay. let’s go back this way then and find Comic, and we can keep an eye out for Edge. sounds good?” Red nodded reluctantly and the group made their way back to the entrance hall.

“MAYBE HE GOT HUNGRY?” Rus thought aloud, “I SHALL CHECK!” Before anyone could stop him, he dashed to the kitchen. The sounds of pots and pans rattling greeted the other three as they entered.

“yeah, there’s no food here,” The plate Red had been looking at sat innocently on the table. He approached it in curiosity. How did it get over there? His attention was pulled by Rus’s shout.

“BLUE? DID YOU FIND SA-COMIC OR EDGE?”

“I SAW SOMETHING UP THE STAIRS! LET'S GO!” The small ball of energy fully left the room and raced up the stairs, his brother chasing behind him, sputtering protests.

“shit! c’mon, Rus!” They followed behind, climbing to the second floor. Neither skeletons were visible when they reached the landing, but they were hesitant to split up. Maybe to the right? Red pulled Rus along by the arm, eye lights scanning the dark hall as they moved as quickly as they could. Why had they not all brought flashlights again? He stopped as they reached the end of the hall, a dead end. Their roles reversed and Rus scooped Red into his arms with a small “sorry” as he ran back the way they came.

“STRETCH! BLUE! EDGE! BROTHER!” Rus tried not to panic as he panicked quite a lot. Red searched for any sign of the other skeletons and, at the same time, they spotted Stretch.

“THERE YOU ARE! WE WERE SO WORRIED! WHERE IS YOUR BROTHER?” He placed Red back on his feet as they approached him.

“do you guys hear that?” He was searching the wall in front of him, gently touching the wall with his fingers. Red laid a hand on his shoulder.

“hear what?” He paused, holding his breath and listening. He could just faintly hear something...some sound that felt familiar but he couldn’t quite place, “what is that? Rus, you hearin’ this?” The strange, quiet sound continued. He turned to ask again. His hand reflexively squeezed Stretch’s shoulder.

“where’d he go?” The hall was empty save for the two of them.

“what the fuck is going on here? is this your prank, Red?” Red shook his head, fear mounting further.

“hell, no, i was jus’ gonna make like a spooky light show! this is too much! if this is a prank, it ain’t funny no more!” He looked around, expecting the others to come out of their hiding places yelling “boo!” or something. And what was that sound? Like a rapid clicking or something.

“c’mon, let’s keep looking…” Red pulled Stretch with him, testing doors as they walked, only to find them all locked. All except one. The one back at the end of the opposite hall. Even before he opened the door, he heard the strange noise again.

The room looked to be an opulent bedroom at one time, now left in ruins. The wallpaper was peeling, flaking into piles on the floor. In some places, the house's structure was visible. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, the deep-colored curtains and bedding faded with age. The dusty rug had a single footprint of disturbed dirt, but there were no other footprints to match it. The clicking sound was much louder in here. Stretch pushed past Red, following the sound as best he could.

“it’s coming from over here…” He rested his hand in the wall. It sunk easily beneath his fingers. “what the-?” He dug his fingers into the paper, peeling it down with ease. Chunks of old drywall crumbled to the floor as he dug. Red investigated the room further. He pulled open the wardrobe and was about to check under the bed when Stretch spoke again.

“oh my god. no nonono!” Red dashed over as Stretch scratched furiously at the wall. Barely visible beneath the flurry of movement were bones. The bones were rattling softly, slightly muffled by the wall.

“holy shit! oh, fuck!” Red joined him in pulling off pieces of the wall, the rattling getting slightly louder the longer they worked. Bit by bit, bare bone was revealed until a full arm took shape. They scratched and pulled until they had to stop in horror.

“...Comic?...Sans?” What the fuck was this, what the fuck was happening? Comic’s eye lights were dim and hazy. He seemed to be out of it, he hadn’t reacted to their presence at all. All they could see of him were dirty, fractured bones. A large crack ran across his skull, ending where his mandible should have been. His entire lower jaw was just...gone, jagged edges left behind where the fused bone had been torn apart.

“what the fuck? Red, we gotta-”

“PAPYYYY” Red had never seen someone perk up in such terror before.

“bro?” Red shouted out, hand reaching out to stop Stretch as he bolted from the room. Conflicted, he looked between Comic and the door Stretch had just vanished through. Did he stay here and continue digging Comic out or did he chase after Stretch and potentially get two friends back...Comic definitely needed help, but three people working on getting him out would probably be a lot faster in the end. A loud crash downstairs cemented his decision and with a silent apology to the skeleton in the wall, he ran out and down the stairs.

No one was in the entry hall when he arrived.

“Stretch? Blue? guys? where are you?” Carefully, he stuck his head in the kitchen. No skeletons here, just a shattered plate on the floor. The crash he heard? That would mean...Someone was nearby. Sweat beading on his skull, he looked to the door on the side wall. Maybe...They went in there? His magic raced as he stepped around the porcelain shards and rested a hand on the door. Cautiously, he pressed his skull to the door, listening.

He could hear rattling from the room beyond.

He steeled himself and threw the door open. No one was immediately visible. The room looked to be a dining room, just a long table with some chairs around it. Some of the chairs were knocked over, though one was curiously balanced upside down on another chair. Ignoring the strange decor, he focused on the sound. It was coming from...Somewhere...On his left!

It took a moment, but he was able to pinpoint the stretch of wall the sound came from. He was suddenly grateful he had claws as he used them to pierce through the wall. This wall wasn’t nearly as decayed as the one in the upstairs room was.

“Boss? Stretch? whoever you are, answer me!” He called out as he dug into the wall. Just as he uncovered a stretch of bone, it moved, taking the rattling sound with it, “hey! ’s okay! ‘s jus’ me! it’s Red!” The sound was now coming from further to his right, “hey, don’ move! this takes forever!”

The rattling sound, however, moved again, and again. Red chased it through the wall, back into the kitchen where it suddenly moved up. Red’s eye lights constricted. None of them could fly. He swore under his breath as he raced back upstairs. He needed to get Comic and regroup, call the Royal Guard or- Red smacked himself in exasperation. They all had cell phones! He brought his out and within a few taps, it was ringing his brother’s phone. His brother never forgot his phone, he could probably just follow the ringing. Only he couldn’t hear any ringing. He double-checked his phone, the call was going through...Maybe this place was just too big. The phone suddenly connected with a click.

“bro? bro?? where are ya? what’s going on?” The line was silent, “fuck!”

He ran back down the hall, back to his original plan. He threw open the door to the bedroom and nearly tripped over himself returning to the stretch of wall that held his friend.

Red felt his breath catch in his throat. Comic was still there, but so was Edge. His baby brothers bones rattled against Comic’s, the clacking echoing in his skull. He pulled desperately at the drywall, his brother seemed to be in the same condition as Comic. His eye lights were nearly non-existent and his mandible was gone.

“fuck, shit. fu-” This was taking too long. He needed help. He stopped for a moment to wallow in his own stupidity before pulling out his cell phone. He quickly called his Undyne. While they weren’t exactly the best of buddies, her and Boss got along swimmingly. She would know what to do. Only there was no answer. The same thing with Comic’s Undyne and Stretch’s Alphys and every other contact in his phone. He tossed it away. He was on his own. He looked back up. Comic and Edge were gone. What. The. Fuck.

What was going on? Why were his friends being taken? He needed to…

Needed to…

He needed to go back to the kitchen.

That dish was broken and he couldn’t just leave broken dishes lying around.

He needed to go downstairs.

It was important.

He felt the pull on his soul, he was needed downstairs.

He picked up the pieces of the plate, one at a time.

He needed to…

Check the corner. The corner with the dark, gaping hole.

It called to him.

He needed to do this.

A sharp edge of the porcelain shard bit into his hand, making him cry out and drop it. What was he doing? He needed to go get help.

He ran out the front door, tripping over the weeds and tumbling head over heels down the steps. The world went black for one frightening moment. He managed to right himself, marrow from the smashed open crack on his skull dripping into his eye. As he looked at the house, the front door slammed shut, the whole house rattling for a moment before falling silent. Red stared at the house. It was just a house, right? Those kinds of stories the humans tell weren’t real, right?

“g-guys? okay, ha ha, r-real funny. ya g-got me. i ain’ gonna try ‘n’ p-prank ya ever again. so c-come out now, ok? p-please?”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!


End file.
